According to AFP, one of those seriously injured in the crash was a three-year-old boy, who was airlifted to a children’s hospital in Paris.

The driver was arrested, according to the national gendarme service. Police said he had “clearly acted intentionally”.

Benoit Tessier / Reuters
French gendarmes maintain a roadblock a certain distance from the scene where a car ploughed into the outdoor terrace of a pizzeria, killing a young girl and injuring several other people

Benoit Tessier / Reuters
Police stop a car at the roadblock after the incident

RTL radio reported the driver said he wanted to kill himself and claimed to have weapons in the car.